Brakes - Give Blood

Brakes were originally a knockabout side project for various Brighton musicians (most notably Tom and Alex White of The Electric Soft Parade and Eamon Hamilton of British Sea Power, though technically the band formed before Eamon joined BSP).

However, on the back of their first singles and the album Give Blood, the momentum of the band gathered fairly swiftly, eventually forcing Eamon to leave his day job, and Tom and Alex to put ESP a little to one side for a while.

The record is a short sharp blast of quirky pop. Some songs don't even make it past the 10 second mark. It is often silly, sometimes even nonsensical, but always a lot of fun. The pivotal track is All Nite Disco Party which fits all the above criteria and lobs in a hypnotic bass riff for good measure.

Brakes' slight country leanings are hinted at with their cover of Jackson (most famously recorded by Johnny Cash and June Carter). This is an avenue which would be explored further on If I Should Die Tonight on their second long-player The Beatific Visions.

Give Blood is such an enjoyable album, and remains so on repeat listens because they keep it nice and short. Brakes slap you round the head with their daftness and make their escape before you have time to get sick of them.

Download: Brakes - Give Blood